topnush
This is an image from a math puzzle:

I am wondering how you could draw this using Latex/TikZ or anything similar.   The problem is getting the squares to touch the circle and each other.
Jairo A. del Rio
Although I shared my ConTeXt/MetaPost solution in the chat and marmot magnificently [adapted part of it in TikZ](https://topanswers.xyz/tex?q=1719#a1940), I'll post a cleaner version for LaTeX (1) so it won't be lost in comments and (2) just in case any eventual MetaPost user in LaTeX may find it useful.

\documentclass{standalone}
\usepackage[latex,shellescape]{gmp}
%%% #1: square size
%%% #2: angle of rotation for the naughty square (between 0 and 90).
\newcommand\foursquares[2]%
{%
\begin{mpost}[name=foursquares]
%%% Not needed in ConTeXt
path fullsquare;
fullsquare := unitsquare shifted (-center unitsquare);
%%%
numeric u; u := \the\dimexpr#1\relax;
numeric Angle; Angle := \the\numexpr#2\relax;
pair I;
path S[], C, L[], Frame;
C := fullcircle scaled (u*sqrt(10));
Frame := fullsquare scaled (u*sqrt(10));
draw Frame withcolor (0.529, 0.808, 0.922);
draw C  withcolor 1/2[blue,white];
for i=-1 upto 1:
S[i+1] := fullsquare scaled u shifted (u*i*up);
endfor
L[1] := (origin -- down) shifted (1/4left) scaled 2u;
L[2] := L[1] shifted (u*left);
for i=1,2:
L[i] := L[i]
endfor
I := C intersectionpoint L[2];
S[3] := unitsquare scaled u shifted (I+u*left)
S[4] := S[1] shifted (u/2+xpart point 3 of S[3],0);
for i = 0,2,3,4:
fill S[i] withcolor 1/2[red,white];
draw S[i] withcolor red;
endfor
\end{mpost}\usempost{foursquares}%
}
\begin{document}
\foursquares{5mm}{10}\ \foursquares{5mm}{20}\ \foursquares{5mm}{30}
\end{document}

![148.png](/image?hash=a0186f4ee51ddd7db19e6ccb250388f5ab8905b8f434e4099f76399b510c21c4)
user 3.14159
This draws such a picture. However, it does not answer the question how to construct the smallest circle that fits the boxes. Rather, it relies on the user selecting the three relevant coordinates.

\documentclass[tikz,border=3mm]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{calc,through}%
\tikzset{circle through 3 points/.style n args={3}{% https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/461180
insert path={let    \p1=($(#1)!0.5!(#2)$),
\p2=($(#1)!0.5!(#3)$),
\p3=($(#1)!0.5!(#2)!1!-90:(#2)$),
\p4=($(#1)!0.5!(#3)!1!90:(#3)$),
\p5=(intersection of \p1--\p3 and \p2--\p4)
in },
at={(\p5)},
circle through= {(#1)}
}}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{scope}[local bounding box=boxes,
nodes={draw=red,fill=red!20,minimum size=1cm}]
\path[rotate=15,transform shape] node (a){} (a.70) node[anchor=south] (b){}
(b.110) node[anchor=south] (c){};
\path (a.north west) coordinate (p1) ++ (0,1) coordinate (p2)
(b.south west) coordinate (p3)  (b.north west) coordinate (p4)
(intersection of p1--p2 and p3--p4) node[anchor=north east] (d){};
\end{scope}
\path node[draw,circle through 3 points={a.south east}{c.north east}{d.south west}]
(C){};
\draw (C.south-|C.west) rectangle (C.north-|C.east);
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

![Screen Shot 2021-03-31 at 10.11.48 AM.png](/image?hash=dd7db3416b7e77c09952553562dedfc540e42042beb1796e2a15fbe05dbd14de)

If five corners are supposed to touch the circle, there is one free parameter. The radius can be computed from the requirement that three corners of the stacked boxes (called (a) and (c) in the code below) lie on the circle, and the fourth corner is then automatically on the circle. The radius is then given by R=sqrt(10)*a/2 (thanks to [Jairo A. del Rio](https://topanswers.xyz/transcript?room=347&id=93943#c93943)), where a is the length of an edge of the cube. The fourth cube, (d) can be rotated and moved along its edge, which determines the shift of the middle box, (b). It is clear that there is a continuous parameter, and it appears likely that there is a favorable parametrization that allows one to find very simple expressions for the rotation angle as a function of the shift, say, but I did not have the passion to try to find one. So for the time being I just add an example where this relation has been guessed.

\documentclass[tikz,border=3mm]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{calc}%
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[declare function={a=1;R=sqrt(10)*a/2;phi=15;}]
\begin{scope}[local bounding box=boxes,
nodes={draw=red,fill=red!20,minimum size=a*1cm,outer sep=0pt}]
\path[rotate=phi,transform shape] node (a){}
([xshift={a*sin(4*phi/5)*1cm}]a.north) node[anchor=south] (b){}
([xshift={-a*sin(4*phi/5)*1cm}]b.north) node[anchor=south] (c){};
\path (a.north west) coordinate (p1) ++ (0,1) coordinate (p2)
(b.south west) coordinate (p3)  (b.north west) coordinate (p4)
(intersection of p1--p2 and p3--p4) node[anchor=north east] (d){};
\end{scope}
\draw ($(a)!0.5!(c)$) circle[radius=R];
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

![Screen Shot 2021-04-01 at 8.35.24 AM.png](/image?hash=8ede6ad1419d2b2798ef7a97a2e96e06dc28f53a5e968eb07e90070c382913b0)

Essentially copying the strategy from [Jairo A. del Rio](https://topanswers.xyz/transcript?room=347&id=93943#c93943), one can then draw the figure in a single path. The intersections of the lines with the circle are computed analytically, hence the atan2 and the acos, and the others with calc, which also allows us to add some useful projections. phi is the angle by which the stacked boxes get rotated, which we take to be the free parameter of this setup.

\documentclass[tikz,border=3mm]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{calc}%
\begin{document}
\foreach \Angle in {2,...,30,29,28,...,3}
{\begin{tikzpicture}[declare function={a=1;d=0.1;R=sqrt(10)*a/2;
phi0=atan2(1,3);phi=\Angle;}]
\draw[nodes={draw=red,fill=red!20,minimum size=a*1cm,outer sep=0pt}]
(-90-phi0+phi:R) node[anchor=south west,rotate=phi](a){}
(90+phi0+phi:R) node[anchor=north west,rotate=phi](c){}
let \p1=(a.north west),\n1={acos((a*1cm-\x1)/(R*1cm))} in
(180+\n1:R) node[anchor=south west](d){}
($(a.north west)!(d.north east)!(a.north east)$)
node[anchor=south west,rotate=phi](b){}

![ani.gif](/image?hash=cf23e79734eef85728eec32a26e0a0299298ba8348dca6e4dbbf917720338a51)